Tara and Jeff's Wedding

This past Saturday we had an East meets West wedding where we transformed an authentic Chinese restaurant into an elegant American styled wedding. The bride, who was half Asian wanted to incorporate her roots and serve a traditional 12 course Chinese wedding dinner. The venue was the East Manor of Flushing Queens where we enjoyed a fabulous dinner which enhanced my tasting palate by trying an array of food that included, roasted pig, shark fin soup and the famous Chinese noodles.

I started working with this couple only 4 weeks ago; and with the clock ticking we had many tasks to complete. I had much work to do, from hiring vendors, to creating favors, purchasing yummy sweets for the dessert table and with the couple out of town travelling for most of the month we did the majority of our communicating over email.

As the wedding kicked off guests as well as onlookers were impressed to see how we transformed the room and created a designer space. The wedding ceremony had a jazz pianist and during the reception guests enjoyed classy sounds from a jazz soloist. During dinner the couple played the Wedding Shoe game which gave their guests a little insight to their life. We danced the night away to the sounds of After Hours Entertainment and guests gave into their sweet tooth by enjoying and array of desserts provided by Sugarcoated Inc. and Aunt Butchies of Brooklyn, NY. We added touches of Asian elements to the reception such as creating table names of chinese symbols with their English translation below, red chopsticks for the place setting, double happiness favors with gold almonds, koi fish for added décor and fortune cookies escort card holders.

I am thrilled with the results of this wedding especially with the many challenges I faced, such as communication barriers, time and location and of course budget. Execution was fantastic and couldn’t have been done with out Studio 4 Event Productions who provided draping and lighting, Marine Park Florist for all the floral arrangements. A big thank you also too Nadia Quinn, photographer, Sugarcoated Inc who created the wedding cake and After Hours Entertainment.

WEDDING CONTEST

Milestone Events By Kristy is going to have lotto contest to where one lucky couple will win free planning services for their destination wedding
To enter:
Please send bride and groom's name and contact details, date & location of the wedding, why you decided on a destination wedding and what your vision of your big day is.

Let me know if you or someone you know wants to enter!!! Drawing will be November 15th, 2009

GOOD LUCK!
Kristy
646-248-2102
milestoneevents@verizon.net

E GIFT REGISTRY

Gifting! Visit www.egift-ing.com Use Promo Code: egift09 @ the check out to get their free registry. The site allows them to print their registry cards, thank you cards, and address labels of those who gifted them directly from the site! Enjoy thi new option of convenience!

Kristy

Alison and Mike's Wedding

This past Saturday I had the pleasure to work with Davi Weddings as a wedding coordinator for James Tramondo. I assisted with the planning of Alison and Mike's big day. Alison resides in LA and she was planning a destination wedding for her and her guests here in the "Big Apple" and what a better theme to choose. Since most of her guests were out of town we welcomed them with fabulous NYC gift bags that included a Time Out Magazine, NYC Subway Map and guide, an I Love NY T shirt, and bag of NY bagel chips. The wedding was filled with weekend of celebration starting with a welcome cocktails on Friday night for all their guests, the wedding reception on Saturday and a lovely picnic brunch in Central Park on Sunday.

As the day began on Sat the crew and I were biting out nails to see if the weather would clear up to have the ceremony and cocktail hour on the terrace of the Ramscale Studio. Luckily the weather Gods were on our side and after an afternoon of pouring rain the clouds started part and the sun was peaking out. We quickly turned everything around to get the terrace ready for the ceremony. The ceremony was lovely with one their closest friend officiating it and another friend singing a solo tribute to them.

The bride and groom had a specific vision for their wedding. They wanted it to reflect a cocktail reception instead of your traditional sit down dinner. We enhanced this by having passed hor's o dors and food for the guests as well as 2 food stations to allow the guests to mingle with each other. The caterer Scoozi Events made an amazing display of coney island pigs in blanket, NY style bite size sliders, mini shrimp tacos and mac n cheese truffle just to name a few. The night was accompanied by a three piece band playing great classic rock tunes. Ending the night the guests feasted on cupcakes from the famous Buttercup Bakery and passed desserts such as personalized creme brulee.
By the end of the night the bride had changed out of her wedding dress and slipped into a white, slick mini, accessorized with red high heels. She looked absolutely stunning.

I had a fabulous time at this wedding and really worked with an amazing team. A well deserved thanks goes to Scoozi Catering and Events, Rocky Scott of the Ramscale Studio and Melanie of Melarosa Flowers.

** More pics to come soon :)

Wish Tree

I have an upcoming wedding that I am planning which is going to be a rustic chic wedding. Since the wedding will take place upstate we will be incorporating many of surrounding nature elements but in an elegant way.
The bride is very interested in adding very unique touches to her big day. One way we will be mixing it up a bit is using a non traditional wish tree in place of a guest book. The Wish Tree is a Dutch wedding custom where guests are given a piece of paper, either shaped like a leaf or made of card stock. The guests write their wishes to the bride and groom and then hang it on the tree. This creates a gorgeous centerpiece and the tree is placed at the entrance to the reception to wow your guest’s right when they walk in. After the wedding you can create a scrapbook with the wish cards. You could even find pictures of the guests who wrote each one and place it next to their wish
There are many types of Wish Trees - your can purchase metal ones, or create your own using blooming branches from a garden or florist, or even use a live potted plant such as a fichus tree. Gift boxes can be hung from the tree of your choice and your guests can take a box off the tree in exchange for their wishes.

Wedding Shoe Game

Recently, I had the pleasure to work with James Tramondo of Davi weddings and witness a fun must have game at any wedding. I will definitely start to mention this to all of my brides and encourage them that if they are looking for a good laugh for them and their guests to try this game.
The Wedding Shoe game is similar to The Newlywed Game, but the questions are much different. The bride and groom will take their places in the center of the dance floor and stand back to back. They will take off their shoes and the bride will hold one of her shoes in her right hand and one of the groom's shoes in her left hand. The groom will hold the bride's shoe in his left hand and his own shoe in his right hand. The emcee will ask such questions as, "Who is the messiest? Who handles the money?" and "Who snores the loudest?" The couples will answer the question by raising the appropriate shoe. This game is always good for laughter from guests.
The best time to have this game is either right before or after the cake cutting ceremony.
I will definitely to try and incorporate this more in the weddings I plan.

Check out this video to get an idea of this game http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yubZktEvvrU...I am sure it will be huge hit with all your guests.

HelmsBriscoe

I always like to give kudos where I think it is well deserved. Recently this year I have made a great contact with the Global Accounts Manager of HelmsBriscoe, Chrissy Limetti. At first I was unaware of this company but since working with Chrissy I learned of the amazing service they offer. HelmsBriscoe is a company that does business by representing clients that they can create a great match between the needs of a planner and the right hotel. Because they work on behalf of their clients and not as a hotel representative, they diligently research hotels all over the world to find the best location and price based on the criteria you provide. Best of all it is all FREE!!!! They also pass along special rates, availability and promotions. Regardless of the size or number of meetings that clients typically books, they enjoy the rates and concessions associated with the collective buying power of all of their clients.

Give me a call or shoot me an email if you want more details on how HelmsBriscoe can help you.

Thanks for all your help Chrissy!

Jordin's 1st Birthday

One of the greatest milestones that we witness in our lives is to see a baby turning one. This past week my own little girl had her first birthday. We enjoyed a very initmate outside party with our friends and family. The party was a princess theme. The theme was actually started with my sister in law who was making Jordin her own princess doll cake. It is a terrble shame that she unfornatuly couldn't finsh the cake due to a family emergancy. She makes amazing cakes that are the shape of an actualy woman (brides, queens, princess, etc.) I hope to be able to share a picture with you soon. The party was filled with crowns, wands, jewels, candy, chocolate...everything you can imagine for a royal princess

The day started with much running around to get the balloons, flowers, candy all set up. With the help of my husband I was able to get backyard ready in time for when the food arrived as well as the arrival of some early guests. As people started to arrive you can see the anxiety continue to overwhelm Jordin's face. She was not a happy camper being passed around and everyone laughing and talking in her face. It was not before long that her temper blew and she was now a very unhappy princess. With the help of a nap she woke up in a much better mood. The kids at the party enjoyed games, cotton candy, lollie pops and a candy buffet.

Overall we had a very successful and pleasent day but the next time I want to have a party at my house; mental note self I am EXHAUSTED from it!! I have to rember to keep telling myself that having a party at an event space or resturant makes for less stress than having to entertain at your own house.

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A unique idea

While planning a wedding this summer I came across a great vendor offering many different stationary ideas.
The company is Janellas invitations www.janellasinvitations.com located in NY. The owner of a company is Jessica Bubb and is a great person to work with. She is very professional and provides quick turn around time. I should know since my last bride was on a time crunch and I ordered only 1 week before the wedding.


My favorite has to be the wedding program fan. Not only does it showcase your ceremony but it serves a purpose for your guests. For brides getting married in summer or spring this will be especially useful. I can bet it will be a huge success with your guests.


All her products are great quality and very competitive pricing in comparison to the market.

Feel free to contact me at milestoneevents@verizon.net if you are looking for more information.

Jennifer & Rick's Wedding - August 15th, 2009

A beautiful bride, a joyful groom and a gorgeous sunny day made it a perfect wedding for our couple who got married at Central Park, Conservatory Garden. It was the perfect location to offer their guests a "Midsummer Nights Dream in NYC". The bride really loved the whimsical look of a Midsummer Nights Dream, by Shakespeare but also wanted to give her out of town guests the feel of NYC. There is a fine line with having a NYC themed wedding without going overboard.

The ceremony was beautiful as we added personal touches to it. We had family members who were involved the marriage of the bride & groom. The sister of the Bride played violin for the Bridal Processional March, a friend of the couple played the guitar for the Bridal Party and we had a beautiful unity candle lighting with the Matron of Honor who sang Soprano. The couple was married by the Groom's father, a Preacher. To add to our Midsummer Nights Dream we had two flower girls that looked like floral fairies. Since this wedding was in the middle of a NY summer I had made unique program fans for the guests to keep them cool.

The reception was in a NYC restaurant, Il Companellos which is an Italian and Argentina fusion. In order to bring in the NY feel to the wedding I had pictures printed that represented some of the best places in NYC (as well as places that were meaningful to the couple). These were used in place of traditional table numbers. Tasty caramel apples were bought from the famous Williams in Coney Island to give the guests a delicious treat to take home with them as their favor. We had a special cake designed add to the NY decor that was an amazing tiered cake with a skyline backdrop around it. Candles surrounded the room to set the mood and beautiful orchid centerpieces were made by me.

This wedding was filled with family, friends and love. The guests dances the night away to the spinning of DJ Gatsby which offered a great mix of dance, hip hop and R&B. The amazing pictures you see here are by photographer, Ananda Lima. I truly had an amazing experience planning this wedding. I worked with great vendors who made this possible as well as a calm and collective bride. After a month of planning, coordinating and running around I am thrilled to see the outcome of this wedding. It will be one I will never forget.

Summer is Almost Over

With summer fast approaching Milestone Events By Kristy's promotion is coming to an end. We have been offering 50% off all of our packages all summer. In order to take advantage of this great discount you must book with us before Aug 31st. I know how the economy has been effecting many people. The dollar just isn't getting you as far these days and that's why I am offering spectular services at such great prices.

See some of our packages:

Advisement Package

–An attractive package for the client that wants to be involved with the details of their event but requires assistance and guidance. The package includes up to 10 hours of personal consultation, venue selection, timeline management, budget analysis, check lists and agendas. **Day of Coordination extra fee



The 11th Hour
–With your wedding day fast approaching you need someone to come in and tie up all those loose ends. Milestone events will meet with you for a consultation on all your planning 1 month before your wedding day. Confirm all the vendors, schedule final vendor payments, prepare agendas and production schedules and includes Day of Coordination



Royal Package

–Unlimited personal consultation

–All vendor meetings and negotiation

–Budget Analysis

–Menu Planning

–Invitations and RSVP Management

–Décor & Entertainment

–Favor and Gift Production

–Transportation & Accommodation arrangements

-Assistance with Rehearsal Dinner

–Full Day Event Coordination



Day of Coordination
Ensure the day of the event runs smooth and on time. Confirm all vendors, schedule vendor payments, oversee ceremony, distribute all programs, bubbles, rose petals, etc. set up reception and cocktail rooms. We are there to answer all questions from your vendors and guests so you can enjoy your day.



We can customize any of these packages to suit your needs and budget.




Call or email me today
646-248-2102
milestoneevents@verizon.net

Opportunity Knocks

It wasn't until last year when the financial markets almost went bust that I realized I want to wake up everyday and be truly passionate about what I am doing. It was September of 2008 and I just given birth to my little girl Jordin and while being home on maternity leave I saw my company going under before my very eyes. Well at that moment it actually opened my eyes that my future was uncertain. After applying for multiple jobs and getting no where and truly knowing that I would be taking a step backwards in my career; I decided to focus my energy in event planning. I sent emails, resumes and made phone calls to well know event planners throughout the city hoping I would get the chance to even speak with one them. Then at last, opportunity knocks, I received a phone call from James Tramondo himself. He is the high energy, Italian, New York wedding planner from Style Network, "Who's Wedding is Anyway". I could not believe my ears. He told me he always promised himself he would help out someone that is trying get into this business. He offered me the opportunity to shadow him on an upcoming wedding he was planning. I took full advantage of his offer worked apart his coordinating team for a wedding on eastern Long Island. Since then he has kept me abreast of parties he working on, asked for my assistance with research and soon will have the opportunity to take the lead on an upcoming wedding. Not only is James a great mentor and sounding board for me but I hope that we become great friends.
This is the perfect example for everyone that if you really want something then you should go after it as best you can. There is no one besides yourself who can help you achieve your dreams.

Welcome

Welcome to Milestone Events By Kristy's blog page. Since starting up the business I have booked clients, gained contacts and have had some great experiences along the way. I truly enjoy what I am doing and look forward to what the upcoming years has in store for me and my company. I am the prime example that anyone can change our lives but you have to have the ambition and drive to do so.

Check out our blog for updates to the company, sales and promotions, pictures of events we have as well unique ideas and tips for people to use.


Kristy